Death announced of cardinal Tomáš Špidlík

Czech-born cardinal Tomáš Špidlík, the theologian, philosopher and writer, died at the age of 90 in Rome on Friday. He was known as one of the foremost experts on the eastern church. He was appointed a cardinal in 2003 by Pope John Paul II, who counted Špidlík as one of his friends. Cardinal Špidlík was born near Brno in 1919 and later studied Czech and Latin at the city’s Masaryk University. He left Czechoslovakia after the communists took power in 1948, first to study at Maastricht University and then left for the Vatican. He worked for Vatican Radio but later pursued his academic studies.